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The Department of Assessment provides leadership in implementing a balanced assessment system that utilizes national, state, and district assessments to guide staff in strategically meeting the needs of all students. Classroom teachers need detailed, real-time data to inform instruction, while school leaders need specific data to inform decisions regarding instructional programs. 

The CCSD Student Assessment System is comprised of four domains, professional learning, local assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, that work together to provide insights to improve teaching and learning. This balanced approach to assessment provides data for a variety of stakeholders to help inform decisions and support improvement at the district, school, or classroom level.

Formative assessment is assessment for learning and implemented while students are engaged in the learning process. Formative assessments are informal assessments that are administered frequently throughout the learning to provide immediate information to the teacher as to whether students are grasping the concepts. Formative assessments give teachers information about individual student progress and are used to guide instruction, plan for differentiated instruction, and to support student learning.   

Summative assessment is assessment of learning and takes place at the end of an instructional period. Summative assessments are used to measure student achievement and mastery of intended learning outcomes. Statewide summative assessment data is typically used to assess instructional programs, support school and district improvement efforts, and inform policy decisions. Summative assessment data are used to identify grade level, course, or program strengths and needs to inform future improvements.

Local assessments are common assessments aligned to our CCSD Academic Curriculum for Excellence (ACE) that are administered throughout the school year to monitor growth and student achievement. Local assessments are used to help identify strengths and areas of need for students and their understanding of concepts. Teachers use this data to address learning concerns and plan for acceleration opportunities before summative assessments are administered.